Annual celebrations move online
What’s normally a week of colour, celebration and unity for members of Greater Victoria’s LGBTQ2S+ community has been pushed into the virtual world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Victoria Pride Week 2020 runs from June 28 to July 5, but this year’s celebration won’t include signature in-person events such as the Victoria Pride Parade or the Big Gay Dog Walk. Instead, community members can go online and celebrate with free, virtual events.
On July 1, the public can tune into the Victoria Pride Society’s (VPS) YouTube channel to watch the documentary premiere of History of the Memorial Dragball Game. The film traces the 25-year history of the Victoria Pride mainstay, exploring the origins of the “epic baseball game between drag kings, queens and things.”
July 2 will feature a live-streamed pride playreading of Animal Show by Eddi Wilson and July 3 will see the Big Gay Dog Walk go virtual, with the usual costume contest and trick competition hosted by Chaz Avery online from the VPS YouTube Channel.
Finally, the 2020 Pride Festival moves online July 5, offering all the event’s typical entertainment with ‘zero lineups.’ The public can stream the event from home on the VPS YouTube channel.
The entire community is getting into the spirit – members of the Victoria Police Department will sport rainbow patches in celebration of Pride Month.
